COLUMBUS, Ohio – House Republicans passed language to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and women’s sports – shoving the change into a bill to allow college students to profit off their name, image and likeness.
The bill passed, 57-36, largely along party lines.
The amendment, offered by Rep. Jena Powell, R-Arcanum, would ban transgender girls from joining female teams in both high school and college. They would, instead, have to join the male teams or co-ed teams. Schools that knowingly violated these rules could find themselves facing civil lawsuits.
Powell offered the change over the loud objections of Democratic lawmakers, who pounded on tables as Rep. Michael Skindell yelled “unfair.”
“This is about making transgender people the ‘other,’” said Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson. Opponents of the change say it’s discrimination against an incredibly small group of kids who already face higher rates of bullying, depression and suicide.
But Republicans argued that the change is about fairness and supporting women.
“Like many of you, I have fought for women’s equality all of my life. And now, I am continuing to fight for it today,” said Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Loveland, who argued that menstruation hampered female athletes.
“If you have a daughter, you should believe in this,” said Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton.
The change would need approval by the Ohio Senate to take effect. Lawmakers also removed an emergency clause that allowed the original bill to take effect immediately.
That’s important because Ohio is racing other states, including Alabama and Georgia, to enact name, image and likeness legislation by July 1.
Before Thursday, Republican Sen. Niraj Antani's proposal was on track to pass through the Ohio Legislature in record time. Now, the changes added by the House will need Senate approval, adding another hurdle.
"We should not be destroying good bills with bad ones," said Rep. Brigid Kelly, D-Hyde Park.
How would the bill allow NIL?
The underlying bill would permit college athletes to be paid for endorsements, personal appearances and social media posts. Ohio State University's sports leaders threw support behind that proposal, saying it would help them compete with programs in other states.
Ohio State is well-positioned to take advantage of NIL legislation. It has a successful program and is in a major city with only the Blue Jackets and Columbus Crew as major-league professional teams.
“We'll see, but we certainly have an unbelievable opportunity here with the Ohio State brand, the Ohio State football brand, the city of Columbus and our social media presence,” Ohio State University football coach Ryan Day said. “I think all that combined allows us an opportunity for these guys to be in a great position to maximize this opportunity.”
Under the bill, athletes would need to inform colleges of NIL contracts, but colleges cannot prohibit them, though there are some conditions. For example, Ohio State has a contract with Nike. An athlete could sign with a competing company but could not wear that brand during a team activity.
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